Pa. public schools [boundary schools] finally discover the intestinal fortitude to take on private school [non-boundary] athletic competition, Part 1

… may have to make it an electoral issue this fall

Whenever athletes compete, regardless of their age or gender, all they ask is a level playing field so that each can have a reasonable chance to win. Everyone should have the same chance of fielding a competitive team. That is why on a national level the NCAA has Divisions I, II and III. That is why within those divisions, they have individual conferences that have schools that put the same amount of money — comparatively — into athletics. In addition, that is why in high school athletics, state and district competition is divided into classes based on enrollment numbers. When I was in high school in the 1960s, we had A, B, and C in Pennsylvania. This changed to AAA, AA, and A, and then AAAA was added. Then they added six classifications to that. The logic is simple: Teams with more potential athletes will be able to field more competitive teams than those with fewer athletes.

For instance, I graduated from a very small high school back in the 1960s. Frankly, I loved the smaller school, and other than athletics, felt that I received a good education in a school with smaller classes. However, with just 129 students in my high school, 9th through 12th grades, we did not have many athletes to pick from for our teams. However, in football, we played teams that were comparatively similar in size. These included Glendale, Nanty Glo, Gallitzin, Laurel Valley, Williamsburg, Berlin, Franklin, Juniata Valley, and Southern Huntingdon. That gave us a decent shot even though we had only 23 players on our team in my senior season. In basketball, though, we competed in the Northern Cambria League, where we found a huge discrepancy.

In our section of the NCL, three schools were of comparative size. These were Lilly-Washington, Gallitzin, and Cresson, all of whom joined into Penn Cambria the next year. Cresson was the largest of the three, with maybe 230 students in four grades. Gallitzin may have had 190 to 200, perhaps fewer than that. However, the fourth team was one that had a distinct advantage. It had 1,400 students at that time and was a private, or “non-boundary” school as the public schools are now categorizing it in 2018. That school dominated the competition, and the other three schools were not on a level playing field.

Debate

That is the genesis of the public-private, or boundary-non boundary debate today. Led by superintendents from the Western Pa. Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL), the schools are sick and tired on playing on what they consider to be a lop-sided PIAA field of competition today.

I am writing this as a three-part series on what is taking place in Pennsylvania; however some of this is also taking place in other states like the ones that I am living in now in the Upper Midwest. The first part of this will identify the background of the problem and what it has caused in terms of athletic competition in the schools. The second part will outline what the public, non-boundary schools are doing now to address the issue, as well as the impotence of the PIAA to address the problem. Third, I will discuss whether or not this is an injustice and what needs to be done to correct it.

Not an anti-Catholic person

When I have seen this issue addressed on blogs or websites or in comments sections of newspapers or news outlets, the argument for the private schools often centers on one argument: the person who is making the argument is anti-Catholic, anti-Christian, an individual who opposes freedom of religion. First, this is not a religious issue. There are private schools that are not religiously-oriented, like George Junior Republic in Western Pa., which is a high school for those who have had problems with the law. There are also those like Sewickly Academy in Pittsburgh and the Milton Hershey School in Hershey, which are not religious.

Second, I am a Catholic, a practicing one at the present time. I grew up in a Catholic home, had a brother and two cousins who were priests, and a father who was honored by the pope. I spent nine years in Catholic schools before entering public schools [much to my parents’ chagrin]. I coached eight years in a private — Catholic — college. So, I am not anti-Catholic, and the issue is not one of religious affiliation.

History of issue

While the WPIAL is attempting to address the issue locally or even through the PIAA, the reality is that it is deeper than that and will require more than changes by the administrative body, the PIAA. Prior to 1972, the public schools competed in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) while the Catholic schools had the Pennsylvania Catholic Interscholastic Athletic Association (PCIAA). The schools could compete against one another during the season, but in the post-season playoffs, they competed only against one another.

Then the Pa. legislature, which I have called the worst in the nation in the 21st Century, overpaid and overrepresented, became involved, and they, and Gov. Milton Shapp, created the issue that is presently contentious. On Oct. 16, 1972, Shapp signed Act 219, which was an amendment to the Public School Code. In short, the geniuses in the legislature provided this, according to the York Dispatch: “Private schools shall be permitted, if otherwise qualified, to be members of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.” And because it was created as a legislative directive, it can only be undone by the state legislature. That is not an impossibility in an election year. More of that later.

Genesis of the anger in 2018

Although the private, non-boundary schools comprise fewer than 20 percent of the membership of the PIAA, they are now dominating the major sports of basketball and football. According to records from the PIAA website, in boys and girls basketball, seven of the 12 state championships were from non-boundary schools. In 2017, nine of the 12 champions were non-boundary schools, five boys and four girls. In 2016, six of the eight champs were non-boundary schools.

Comparatively, in 1998, only two of the eight were non-boundary schools. This exacerbated in 2008 with the addition of the Philadelphia city schools. The city of Philadelphia has 13 Catholic high schools and 35 charter schools that have students in grades 9-12 in the city. Not all of them are athletic powers, but some are, and all are non-boundary schools.

In football, the dominance of non-boundary schools is also evident. In 2017 and 2016, four of the six state titles went to non-boundary schools. In 2015, three of the four were non-boundaries. Back in 1998, only one of the four state titles went to non-boundary schools. In 1988, two of four were non-boundary, and in 2008, before Philly schools were admitted, none of the four were non-boundary.

This is what boundary schools are complaining about this year.

Defining boundary vs. non-boundary

While previous battles have been led by coaches and athletic directors of non-boundary schools, this time the superintendents are becoming involved. The superintendent of schools in New Castle, Western Pa., is leading the quest to provide what he calls a cry for level playing fields. John Sarandrea led the charge to have the WPIAL first question its schools about boundary-non boundary issues.

By defining this as a boundary-non boundary issue, they are taking away the public-private monikers. That gives the battle a very different framework. A school that is a “boundary” one can use only those students who live within the geographical boundaries of the school district. That makes a huge difference. When I was in high school, we were limited to athletes who live in either Lilly Borough or Washington Township. That is a small area, and because some students attended private schools, we had just about 129 students in our high school. The private school, however, that I alluded to earlier, could use students who lived anywhere in that county. So, based on 1960 population data, Lilly Borough had 1,642 people with the surrounding township having about 1,000 more. That gave a draw of 2,600 people. In Cambria County, the 1960 census listed 53,949 people. Technically, any non-boundary school could attract people from that area, though most had a more limited area. Still, they are not constrained by boundaries, and that is what has angered the non-boundary schools.

Today, any of the charter or Catholic high schools in Philadelphia can attract anyone from within its huge geographical boundaries, or even outside of the city. That is the major concern.

Upcoming in the series

Part Two: What non-boundary schools are doing now; the impotence of the PIAA and need for change

Part Three: Is this really an injustice? Do public schools have the desire, ability to take the issue to the ballot box in November?